In her first public statement since being freed from Russia, the two-time Olympic gold medalist says she'll play for her team, the Phoenix Mercury, when the season starts in May.
American basketball star Brittney Griner returned to the United States early Friday after being freed in a high-profile prisoner exchange following nearly 10 months in detention in Russia.
The former U.S. Marine has been held in Russia since 2018. As supporters celebrate Brittney Griner's release, they — Whelan himself included — are wondering why he was left behind.
Thursday onPolitical Rewind: The midterms are over. Today our panel gives final thoughts on what they mean for Georgia's political future. Plus, the legislature starts its 2023 session a month from tomorrow. We discuss what you can expect to see on the docket. But first, we dive into the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner.
Bout is a Russian who was the world's most notorious arms dealer in the 1990s and early 2000s. He was serving a 25-year prison sentence in Illinois before being freed as part of a U.S.-Russia swap.
The U.S. basketball star was transferred to a prison colony in Mordovia — 300 miles southeast of Moscow — to begin serving out a nine-year sentence on drug charges.
Maria Alyokhina was sent to a penal colony as a member of the feminist punk collective. Authorities "teach you how to forget your right to choose," she says. She urges Griner "to not forget yourself."
Griner has been moved from a detention center outside of Moscow and is being sent to a Russian penal colony to begin serving out her nine-year sentence on drug smuggling charges, her lawyers said.
The decision effectively sends Griner to serve out her nine-year term in a Russian prison colony, even as the U.S. and Russia appear set to reengage in talks for a possible prisoner swap.
President Biden has said Griner and Whelan are wrongfully detained in Russia. Griner, a WNBA star, was convicted of marijuana possession, and Whelan, an ex-Marine, was convicted of espionage.
Griner's attorney was quoted by Russian news agencies on Monday as saying the appeal was filed, but the grounds of the appeal were not immediately clear.
The U.S. and Russia are trying to work out a prisoner exchange that involves basketball star Brittney Griner. While they've done deals for decades, the trading usually involves spies for spies.
